ARENDT: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED Continuum Guides for the Perplexed Continuum’s Guides for the Perplexed are clear, concise and accessible introductions to thinkers, writers and subjects that students and readers can find especially challenging. Concentrating specifically on what it is that makes the subject difficult to grasp, these books explain and explore key themes and ideas, guiding the reader towards a thorough understanding of demanding material. Guides for the Perplexed available from Continuum Adorno: A Guide for the Perplexed, Alex Thomson Arendt: A Guide for the Perplexed, Karin Fry Aristotle: A Guide for the Perplexed, John Vella Berkeley: A Guide for the Perplexed, Talia Bettcher Deleuze: A Guide for the Perplexed, Claire Colebrook Derrida: A Guide for the Perplexed, Julian Wolfreys Descartes: A Guide for the Perplexed, Justin Skirry Existentialism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Stephen Earnshaw Freud: A Guide for the Perplexed, Celine Surprenant Gadamer: A Guide for the Perplexed, Chris Lawn Habermas: A Guide for the Perplexed, Eduardo Mendieta Hegel: A Guide for the Perplexed, David James Heidegger: A Guide for the Perplexed, David Cerbone Hobbes: A Guide for the Perplexed, Stephen J. Finn Hume: A Guide for the Perplexed, Angela Coventry Husserl: A Guide for the Perplexed, Matheson Russell Kant: A Guide for the Perplexed, T. K. Seung Kierkegaard: A Guide for the Perplexed, Clare Carlisle Leibniz: A Guide for the Perplexed, Franklin Perkins Levinas: A Guide for the Perplexed, B. C. Hutchens Merleau-Ponty: A Guide for the Perplexed, Eric Matthews Nietzsche: A Guide for the Perplexed, R. Kevin Hill Plato: A Guide for the Perplexed, Gerald A. Press Pragmatism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Robert B. Talisse and Scott F. Aikin Quine: A Guide for the Perplexed, Gary Kemp Relativism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Timothy Mosteller Ricoeur: A Guide for the Perplexed, David Pellauer Rousseau: A Guide for the Perplexed, Matthew Simpson Sartre: A Guide for the Perplexed, Gary Cox Spinoza: A Guide for the Perplexed, Charles Jarrett The Stoics: A Guide for the Perplexed, M. Andrew Holowchak Wittgenstein: A Guide for the Perplexed, Mark Addis ARENDT: A GUIDE FOR THE PERPLEXED KARIN FRY Continuum International Publishing Group The Tower Building 80 Maiden Lane 11 York Road Suite 704 London SE1 7NX New York NY 10038 www.continuumbooks.com © Karin Fry 2009 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: HB: 0-8264-9985-6 PB: 0-8264-9986-4 HB: 978-0-8264-9985-1 PB: 978-0-8264-9986-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Fry, Karin A. Arendt : a guide for the perplexed / Karin A. Fry. p. cm. ISBN 978-0-8264-9985-1 – ISBN 978-0-8264-9986-8 1. Arendt, Hannah, 1906–1975. I. Title. JC251.A74F79 2008 320.5–dc22 2008037000 Typeset by Newgen Imaging Systems Pvt Ltd, Chennai, India Printed and bound in Great Britain by MPG Books Ltd, Bodmin, Cornwall To William and to Rogue for taking care of him This page intentionally left blank CONTENTS Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 1. Totalitarianism and the Banality of Evil 9 Antisemitism and Imperialism 11 Totalitarianism 16 Totalitarianism, Nature and History 22 The Banality of Evil 27 2. Philosophical Thought and the Human Condition 34 Philosophy and Politics 35 The Vita Activa 41 Modern Alienation and the Social 49 3. Freedom and Practical Politics 58 Freedom 59 Power and Violence 64 Foundation, Authority and Tradition 68 Arendt and Practical Politics 73 4. The Life of the Mind and Political Judgment 80 Thinking and Politics 81 Willing and the Philosophical Tradition 87 Political Judgment 93 vii CONTENTS 5. Arendt’s Critics 105 The Social 106 Morality 109 Elitism 112 Heidegger 114 Little Rock and American Race Issues 120 Feminism 124 Jewish Thought 127 Notes 138 Bibliography 150 Index 153 viii ABBREVIATIONS WORKS BY HANNAH ARENDT BF Between Friends: The Correspondence of Hannah Arendt and Mary McCarthy, 1949–1975 BPF Between Past and Future CR Crises of the Republic EJ Eichmann in Jerusalem EU Essays in Understanding HC The Human Condition JC Hannah Arendt Karl Jaspers Correspondence, 1926–1969 KPP Lectures on Kant’s Political Philosophy LM Life of the Mind MDT Men in Dark Times OR On Revolution OT The Origins of Totalitarianism PA The Portable Arendt PP The Promise of Politics RJ Responsibility and Judgment RLC Reflections on Literature and Culture RV Rahel Varnhagen: The Life of a Jewish Woman WFW Within Four Walls: The Correspondence between Hannah Arendt and Heinrich Blücher, 1936–1968 ix